A key element of developing biomass
utilization technology is an understanding of basic ecological processes. The amount of biomass available in a tree was
explored in a 1983 study (Sirois
1983). This publication documented not only the
above ground biomass availability, but also the below ground biomass for
several species of southern hardwoods.
Prediction equations for estimating green and oven-dry biomass were
developed and presented for sweetgum, hickory, southern red oak, and white
oak. Biomass tables were presented for
each species tested using d.b.h. and height to estimate the green weight of a tree
(stem, branches, stump, and roots). This
paper provides detailed methodologies employed to derive these equations and
tables.
Additional equations were developed (Franchi
and others 1984) to predict
the dry weight of biomass in understory stems in the